~ Los Angeles, the Cliffside Villa ~
May 31
7:47 AM
On the training ground…
Most of the kids from the Cliffside Villa are out, doing their morning exercise. Few of them are running, and others are doing various exercises or sparring.
"Again!" Aiden instructed Corey while observing his movents as Corey kicked the training dummy.
"Shift your balance to the back and rotate your hips faster. Power cos from the core, and your leg is only following the montum…"
Aiden gave an approving nod at Corey's kick that followed.
"Good. Rember that feeling and do it again."
"How many tis?" Corey asked with a grin which showed that he is pleased with the praise he got from Aiden.
"Until you are confident that you can do it without thinking how you are doing it."
Corey pressed his lips into a line and assud an attack stance before his hips rotated and his leg hit the training dummy. Again, and again, and again…
rve watched Corey and smiled.
It's two weeks since the prom and the two of them are spending a lot of ti together.
After lunch at the Long family villa, Hande provided information that Samantha Long is collecting private information about youngsters in her circle, like sothing that could be used for matchmaking. Upon closer inspection, they found that it also contains data about who is close to whom, the nature of relationships between people, and various misdeeds perford by each person accompanied by dates, notes, and photos. Sarah said how that looks more like a blackmailing book than a matchmaking one and she advised Corey to use it to his advantage.
Corey didn't like the idea of blackmailing, but then he realized that Sarah would probably not advise him to do such a thing. "How can I use this?"
"Charlie said in front of influential people that you are slated to be his replacent. You will need people who are loyal. You can't force people to be loyal, but you can make them feel indebted, and that is a start." Sarah saw that Corey is confused, so she explained: "Approach these people, especially the ones which have their dirt exposed. Tell them that you bumped into this by accident and that you are giving them a heads-up how Samantha has this on them… And you are not asking anything in return."
rve liked this. "They will be wary of Samantha, and so might confront her about this. At the sa ti, everyone will feel indebted to Corey that he warned them…"
Over the last two weeks, rve and Corey visited a number of people from Samantha's 'blackmailing scrapbook' (how they call it), and it happened just as Sarah predicted.
At first, the person in question denied it, saying that it's a lie, and they parted ways as that person thanked Corey with "If you need anything, give a call…"
In terms of school, Corey has no more classes. The only thing left is the graduation ceremony, and Corey is officially done with high school. He spoke with Charlie about his sumr and college plans and Charlie was not happy about it.
First, Corey requested to spend his sumr at the Cliffside Villa in order to train. Charlie has no problem with Corey training, but does he need to stay there? Only when Aiden and Sarah confird that it's not a problem, Charlie relaxed about it.
Second, Corey said that he wants to continue his education online, how rve and the others are doing. Charlie was against it. "You already got acceptance letters from several Ivy League colleges. If you want to focus on your studies, you should be on campus. It will also provide you with opportunities to build your network…"
Corey was exasperated. Going to classes in person is one thing, but staying on campus…? And most of those are out of state! When will he see rve? That was out of the question! Corey then said that he will take a year off from school to what Charlie blew a fuse.
"You are doing this for rve, aren't you?" Charlie asked angrily. "It makes wonder if she a good or a bad influence?"
"I wouldn't be here if not for her. I am trying my best for her!" Corey's anger matched Charlie's. How dares he accuse rve of being a bad influence? rve in his life is the best thing ever and the only good thing about that argunt was that rve was not present to hear Charlie's hurtful words.
"If you want to be your best, then focus on your studies. Learn things, et people, beco strong, for her."
"I don't need to be three ti zones away from her in order to accomplish that!" Corey responded.
Emma had to interfere. They were getting out of hand. "Charlie honey… why don't we let Corey co up with a detailed plan of how he can accomplish things? We can review it and then talk about it. Most of the kids at the Cliffside Villa never stepped in any classroom and they are doing great…"
Emma is more flexible in terms of education than Charlie. Charlie did everything by the books, while Emma worked and studied at the sa ti, so she knows that going to school does not need to be the classical whole day on-campus experience.
That discussion left several things hanging in the air, with Corey promising that by July 1st he will present a detailed plan of his training and education until graduation.
Corey is at the Cliffside Villa for three days, and after two days in separate rooms, Corey and rve asked for an apartnt. Last night was their first night together, in their apartnt, and rve could not be happier about it.
"Earth to rve…"
Masika's voice pulled rve out of her thoughts and based on Masika's expression, rve realized that she missed sothing.
"What?"
Masika stifled a laugh. "I was saying… This is training and if you are going to get lost in a daze while watching your boyfriend, he is more of a distraction than motivation. Do you want to be a bodyguard, or not?"
rve blinked and saw that she is standing in front of a pullup bar. She was doing pullups and then she heard Aiden talking to Corey and she got distracted. How many pullups did she do? rve has no idea. Ah, now she needs to start all over.
"How do you focus on training when Zack is around?" rve asked helplessly.
"Uhm… I don't know." Masika admitted. "It can be hard sotis, but we are training together for three years so… maybe I'm used to…" Masika froze when she heard Zack's grunt from behind her.
"You are used to ? Already?" Zack clicked his tongue and shook his head in disapproval.
rve giggled when she saw Masika's flustered expression.
Masika moved toward Zack and hugged his sweaty arm. Usually, she would enjoy the firmness of his muscles, but now she is in trouble and needs to stay focused. "I was saying that I'm used to training with you. Whenever my will wavers, I rember your sharp gaze and handso features as you aim the knife at the target, and I want to perform better… And your perfect stance…"
A small smile crept on Zack's lips as he listened to Masika's clumsy explanation and he had no intention of interrupting her blabber.
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